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SIXTH GRADE SCIENCE MIDTERM EXAM TOPICS
AND STUDY GUIDE
Chapter 5 The Earth Moon System
 Lesson 1 The Tools of Astronomers
 Lesson 2 Earth and the Sun
Chapter 6 The Solar System and Beyond
 Lesson 4 The Inner Solar System
 Lesson 5 The Outer Solar System
Chapter 7 Earth’s Moving Crust
 Lesson 1 Moving Plates
 Lesson 2 Earthquakes
 Lesson 3 Volcanoes
Chapter 8 How Earth Changes Over Time
 Lesson 4 Making Mountains and Soil
 Lesson 5 Erosion and Deposition
 Lesson 6 The Rock Cycle
Midterm Exam Study Guide
Light:
1. Define the following and give an example of each: (C8)
Refraction:
Def: The bending of waves as they go from one substance to another.
Ex: light through a prism; pencil in a glass of water
Reflection:
Def: the bouncing of waves off a surface
Ex: mirror
2. What type/color of objects absorb the Sun’s energy better?
black
3. Study the electromagnetic spectrum diagram below. Know how to read one. (C9)
4. Name the six types of light waves shown in the diagram:
Radio, Infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays, visible
5. In which direction does the sun rise and set? (C21)
Rise: east
Sets: west
6. If the sun is behind you, where would you see your shadow? (C21)
In front of you; it is always on the opposite side of the sun.
Earth:
7. Know how to read and answer questions based on the time zone map below. (C22)
Which of earth’s motions is the cause of time zones? rotation
8. In which time zone does the sun rise first?
Eastern (EST)
9. If it is 1:00pm in Green Bay, WI, what time is it in Phoenix, AZ?
12:00pm
10. What holds the planets in orbit? Gravity
11. Define the following: (C20, C24)
Rotation: one complete spin on Earth’s axis (1 day or 24 hours)
Revolution: one complete trip around the sun (1 year or 365 1/4 day)
12. Why do we have seasons? (C24)
The tilt of Earth’s axis.
13. What is the thin layer of water surrounding Earth called? (C51)
hydrosphere
Solar System:
14. What do we use to look at the sky to see the stars and planets? (C7)
telescope
15. Know that the our Solar System is in a Galaxy, which is in the Universe (C84)
16. When people are sent into space, what do they travel in? (C12-C13)
Space shuttle
17. What are the three things that astronauts need to travel to the Moon (in space)?
(C14)
Oxygen, water, food
18. When scientists send objects into space to collect data, what do they send? (C12-C13)
Artificial satellites, space probes
19. Which planet has the longest year? (C63) Neptune
Why? Longest distance from the Sun; since it is the farthest from the Sun, its
orbit is longest.
20. Which planet has the shortest year? (C50) Mercury
Why? Closest to the sun; since it is the closest to the Sun, its orbit is the
shortest.
21. Why does Mercury have such extreme temperatures? (C50)
The planet does not have an atmosphere. During the day the sun beats directly
down and there is no atmosphere to protect it, during the night all the heat escapes
and it is extremely cold.
22. Know how to read the table on Past Space Missions found on page C16.
23. In what year was Sputnik-1 launched? 1957
24. Why are spacecrafts designed to be able to recycle used water? (C14).
They can only bring small amounts of water with them.
25. Why do we weigh less on the Moon?
There is less gravity
26. What do the arrows in the above diagram represent? (C24)
The revolution of a planet.
27. How long would it take Earth to go from postion B back to position B?
1 year (365 ¼ days)
28. What season would we be in if Earth was in positon A? Summer because it was
tilted towards the sun.
29. What do the arrows in the above diagram represent? (C20)
Rotation
30. How long does it take Earth to make one complete spin? (C20) 1 day (24 hours)
31. What happens because Earth spins? (C20) Day and night
32. Which planet has the greatest orbit? (C63) Neptune
Why? Because it is farthest from the Sun and has the longest orbit.
Which planet has the shortest orbit? (C50) Mercury
Why? Because it is closest to the Sun and has the shortest orbit.
33. If Planet A spins faster on its axis than Planet B, what does planet A have shorter?
A shorter day
Planet A
Sun
Planet B
34.
In the diagram above the Northern Hemisphere has summer weather in June. What does
the sun’s angles have to do with which season it is in? (C24)
In the summer, the Sun strikes a location at more direct/high angles. In the winter, the
Sun strikes a location at indirect/low angles.
Moving Plates:
35. Alfred Wegener believed that the continents once formed a giant supercontinent
called Pangaea. Looking at the diagram below, give one important piece of evidence that
proves his hypothesis? (D7)
Some continents fit together like puzzle parts because their coastlines matched.
36. What evidence do scientists have that ancient animals, like the Mesosuarus, lived in
South America and Africa millions of years ago? (D7,D84)
Fossils of Mesosauras bones
37. Why are fossils important to scientists? (D84)
They tell us what creatures lived in the past and clues to what the creatures
surroundings were like.
38.
What is a theory? (C7)
An explanation supported by scientific evidence
39. Look at the diagram of sea-floor spreading on page D8 of your textbook.
Where is new rock material forming? a. at the ridge
Where is the oldest rock? b. farther away along the sea floor
40.
Distance from
Age of Rocks
the Mid-Atlantic
(millions of
Ridge (km)
years)
1
.5
2
1.0
3
1.5
4
2.0
5
?
Look at the chart above. What will be the age of rocks found at a distance of 5 km from
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge? 2.5 million years ago
41. Look at the diagram on pages D12- D13 in your textbook. The blue lines at the bottom
of the diagram represent how heat from Earth’s mantle reaches the crust. What is the
name of this current? Convection current
42.
Look at the diagram above showing the layers of the Earth. Know that the mantle can be
divided into the upper and lower mantle.
The lower mantle is much more rigid and
dense than the upper mantle because it is under more pressure than the upper mantle.
43. What is the name of the theory that explains how Earth’s crustal plates move? (D11)
Plate tectonics
44. Look at the diagram on p. D14. What features can form at convergent boundaries?
Island arc
45. Know how to read a bar graph and circle graph.
(R16 and R17 at the back of you textbook)
How paper clips can a nail with 20 coils pick up? 3
What is the single largest use of water? Electric Power Plants
Earthquakes:
46. Use the above map to answer the question.
Why is there more earthquake and volcanic activity along the west coast?

There is a plate boundary between the North American Plate and the
Pacific Plate

It is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire

The San Andreas Fault is located there
47. A. Explain the movement of the plates in the above diagram. (D12-D14)
The oceanic and continental plates are colliding and the more dense oceanic plate
is being subducted underneath the continental plate.
B. Why are volcanoes and earthquakes found along these type of plate boundaries?
Volcanoes- As one plate slides under another, hot rock material in the upper mantle
is able to melt and become magma. It flows toward the surface, where it can erupt
through cracks, producing volcanic mountains. Earthquakes- When plates move, great
forces are exerted on the rocks of the crust. When the rocks in the crust reach their
limit, they break forming faults.
48. What causes a fault? (D21)
Crustal plate movement
49. Why would architects have to build buildings and bridges with flexible materials?
(D26)
To be safe in areas of frequent earthquakes. If a building has flexible
materials, it will be able to withstand some force from the earthquake.
50. How do mountains form? (D12) *See fold mountain definition on page D46*
Rock layers folded by being squeezed together.
51. Know that it takes about the same amount of time for a mountain and a new midocean ridge to form.
52. Look at the map on page D11 and explain why earthquakes occur frequently in
California?
California is located on the boundary of two crustal plates.
53. What actions can people of California take to prepare for earthquakes?
Take a first-aid and CPR class
earthquake kits – flashlights batteries, radio, first aid kit
emergency escape plan
54. Know that scientists study earthquake waves to help them learn about the structure of
Earth’s interior layers. (D22)
55. Be able to read and answer questions about the table on page D21 Three Kinds of
Faults.
1.
Normal Fault – divergent boundaries – plates pull apart
2.
Reverse Fault – convergent boundaries – plates push together
3.
Strike-slip Fault – transform boundaries – plates slide past each other
without moving up or down.
56. Place an X on the map below to indicate a location at 20oS 60oW.
Volcanoes:
57. What is a dormant volcano? (D34)
Currently inactive, but has erupted in past
58.
Why is the volcano larger in the third picture? (D30)
It has erupted many times
59. Look at the map on page D31 in your text book. How are the formation of volcanoes
and plate boundaries related?
Most volcanoes occur along plate boundaries
Making Mountains and Soil:
60. How do fold mountains form? (D46)
A mountain made mostly of rock layers folded by being squeezed together.
61. What is weathering?
The breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces by natural processes.
That is mechanical weathering? Give some examples. (D48)
The breaking down of rock by physical changes
Ex. Animals burrowing; Freezing and thawing of water in and around rocks
B. What is chemical weathering? Give some examples. (D49)
The breaking down of rocks by changing their composition
Ex. Acids speeding up the decomposition of rocks; when iron is exposed to oxygen
and turns to rust.
62. Give an example of weathering you have seen in your own area.
Any of the above examples.
Erosion and Deposition:
63. How are erosion and deposition different? (D47, D58)
Erosion – the movement of the materials that have been broken down by
weathering.
Deposition – dropping off of sediments
64. Give some examples of how weathered rock particles can be eroded. What natural
forces move the material? (D58-59)
Mass wasting – the downhill movement of Earth’s material caused by gravity.
Water Erosion – waves erode beaches.
65. Look at the diagram on page D60. Describe the movement of the particles in the
diagram.
The moving water from the stream/river is carrying sediments along with it. As the
water reaches the ocean, it slows down. When the water slows down, it begins to
drop, or deposit, the sediments it was carrying.
66. How do glaciers shape the land? (D62-D63)
Like a huge, slow bulldozer pushing rocks and soil out of their path, sometimes
carrying pieces of sediment with them.
The Rock Cycle:
67. What are the three main types of rock? (D72-D73)
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
68.
Know the properties of rocks and minerals. (D70-D71 and your notes)
Hardness – how easily it can be scratched
Streak – color when its ground into a powder
Luster – how it reflects light
Density – measures the amount of mass within a given space and is compared
to water.
Cleavage – how it breaks
Know the Rock Cycle. Know how rocks change into other types of rocks. (D78)
69. How does an igneous rock become a sedimentary rock?
Weathering and erosion break down the igneous rock into sediments. Through
compaction and cementation, the sediments become sedimentary rock.
70. How does an igneous rock and a sedimentary rock become a metamorphic rock?
Through heat and pressure
71. How does a metamorphic rock become an igneous rock?
Heat melts the metamorphic rock into magma. When the magma cools it becomes
igneous rock.